We updated the video at the end of the post to reflect the full
context of West's comments. Edson said he was taking a "jab" at
the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Florida U.S. Rep. Allen West's latest headline-grabbing claim has
earned him comparisons to the former Senator Joe McCarthy.

This morning at a town-hall event in Palm Beach, he told supporters that he has
"heard" that up to 81 Democrats are, in fact, communists,
the Palm Beach Post reports.

There are currently 190 Democrats in the House of
Representatives. West didn't name any names.

In the video below, someone asks West how many members of the
Democratic Party are "card-carrying Marxist Socialists."

"I believe that there are about 78 to 81 members of the
Democratic Party that are members of the Communist
Party," West responds. Oddly specific, it causes a buzz
in the crowd.

When pressed for specifics, a spokeswoman for the West campaign
said that West was referring to the 76 members of the
Congressional Progressive Caucus.

"The Communist Party has publicly referred to the Progressive
Caucus as its allies," West spokeswoman Angela Martin said in an
email to Business Insider, pointing to this 2010 release. "The
Progressive Caucus speaks for itself. These individuals certainly
aren't proponents of free markets or individual economic
freedom.”

Of course, because the Communist Party has referred to the
Progressive Caucus as an ally does not signal correlation. And it
certainly doesn't mean that the Democrats are
also members of the Communist Party. No members
Congress are members of the Communist Party. And there is
absolutely no mention of the Communist Party on the Congressional
Progressive Caucus website.

A spokesman for the campaign of Patrick Murphy, the Democratic
challenger to West for Florida's 18th District seat in the House,
said West's words were "divisive" and "don't need to be in our
political discourse."

"That was exactly what McCarthy did — accuse people without much
evidence of being communists," the spokesman Anthony Kusich told
Business Insider. "We thankfully put that chapter of our history
behind us. Now, I guess if you disagree with someone on policy,
you're also a communist. I don't think the American people and
the people of Florida believe that."

At the same event, West said President Barack Obama would be
"scared" to have a discussion with him. From the Palm Beach Post:

"I really wish that, standing here before you, was Allen West
and President Obama," West said. "We could have a simple
discussion. But that ain't ever gonna happen."